Too much stress means higher claims on your employee benefits plan and decreased productivity. There are a number of relatively easy and cost-effective ways you can help reduce stress in the workplace for you and your employees.

Wellness programs are a good starting point. Preventing excessive stress before it happens is the best strategy.

This is also a good stress reducer. Simple and inexpensive ideas for promoting a team environment include:. Encourage exercise and healthy eating.

Exercise and healthy eating are widely known as great tools to reduce and prevent stress. Exercise helps reduce risk factors for virtually every negative health condition.

It also helps release endorphins in the brain which make people feel happy and positive. Promote healthy sleep and taking breaks. Breaks allow employees to recharge and de-stress so they can focus on working. Too often employees get into the routine where they skip lunch, put off taking a vacation and forgo the sleep they need in favour of doing other things.

Promoting healthy sleep and taking breaks should start with education. Other ideas include: encourage employees NOT to eat at their desks; set limits on how much vacation an employee can carry over to the next year; run contests with rewards for employees who reach their nightly sleep goals.

Giving employees access to professional resources and support is an important way to help reduce stress in the workplace. Including access to an Employee and Family Assistance Program EFAP in your employee benefits plan is a great way to do this.

A good support program will provide counselling, articles and other resources so employees can help prevent over-stress and reduce the stress they already have. GroupHEALTH includes an employee and family assistance plan with all of its plans.

Employees can access credible information and get help when they need it. Set clear requirements and expectations.

Employees who are clear about their requirements and expectations surrounding their role and their performance are less likely to become over-stressed. Not knowing these things can be very stressful.

Employees may worry whether they are doing too much or not doing enough. This lack of information and expectations sets employees up for stress and burnout. Ensuring your company provides all employees with clear expectations on their role and their work is the first step.

Regular reviews with a supervisor to review these expectations, evaluate job performance and strategize to meet the expectations is a great way to help prevent over-stress. Reducing stress in the workplace benefits everyone. With less stress, employees report higher job satisfaction.

Happy employees are more productive and more likely to help out when needed. If employees are your greatest asset, then happy and productive employees are a competitive advantage. A stress overload can lead to fatigue, lack of sleep, illness, mental health issues, lack of focus, and at work, lost productivity and efficiency, absenteeism, and turnover, says Kelly.

Here are 9 ways to do that. Make sure your workplace is psychologically healthy. A heavy workload and poor work-life balance are only two factors that can increase employee stress. Other factors can include poor leadership skills, a toxic organizational culture, lack of communication, racism or bias and poor growth opportunities.

Take a look at all 13 factors that can affect stress levels and mental well-being and take steps to improve the psychological health of your workplace, advises Kelly.

Embrace flexible work hours. Institute a good change management plan. Change can trigger feelings of fear and lack of control among employees, which creates stress.

If you are making changes, like introducing new technology, communicate all aspects of how it will work, what the benefits are, and how people will be trained. Provide opportunities for employees to discuss their concerns and ask questions. Try informal team chats in person or online, conduct surveys or meet with employees directly.

Provide leadership training. Equip leaders with the proper skills to lead their team, build trust, create a positive safety culture and encourage engagement. Review workloads. If an employee feels overwhelmed, reduce their workload or help them prioritize. Set reasonable deadlines.

Create opportunities for connection. Connecting with others can alleviate feelings of stress, depression and isolation. So whether your employees work at the office or at home, make sure you arrange coffee chats, team meetings, or other ways to connect.

Be creative. Encourage employees to take vacations, get adequate rest, eat properly, use your EAP services, and participate in the health, wellness and stress reduction programs you offer. Consider offering resiliency training as well. Connect employees with community resources.

View a list of free mental health supports in Ontario to share with your employees.

Every workplace is different with different stressors. Asking your employees what they need via surveys or focus groups is much more efficient than trying to guess. Sometimes workplace stress is exacerbated by red tape, conflicts with co-workers or feeling underappreciated by management.

Identifying the causes of stress in your workplace and taking actions to improve the circumstances can have a great impact on employee well-being. Creating a Mental Health-Friendly Workplace. As artificial intelligence technology continues to develop, the demand for workers with the ability to work alongside and manage AI systems will increase.

This means that workers who are not able to adapt and learn these new skills will be left behind in the job market. New, trends and analysis, as well as breaking news alerts, to help HR professionals do their jobs better each business day. Skip to main content. Linked In Facebook Twitter Email. Error message details.

Copy button. Learn More. Share Bookmark i Reuse Permissions. The following are suggested actions employers can take to help reduce employee stress at work.

Related Reading Creating a Mental Health-Friendly Workplace. Health Care Benefits. Mental Health Benefits. Wellness Benefits. Related Content. Rising Demand for Workforce AI Skills Leads to Calls for Upskilling. HR Daily Newsletter New, trends and analysis, as well as breaking news alerts, to help HR professionals do their jobs better each business day.

Success title Success caption. Already have a subscription? Utilize Flexible Work Schedules Flexible work schedules give employees the opportunity to vary their start and stop times for their workday.

This has shown to be an effective way of lowering workplace stress and increasing productivity, despite many original hesitations about this change.

Provide Employee Recognition Your team works hard to advance organizational goals. Even a verbal thank you or a thoughtful email from a manager to an employee can achieve positive results.

Encourage Breaks Throughout the Day While in the office, many exempt employees may adapt a non-stop work mentality. Depending on deadlines or their schedules, they may not even take a break to eat lunch.

Instead, grab and go options become the norm and lunches are eaten over their keyboards. While this may be the norm in many workplaces, taking breaks can help employees avoid burnout while reducing overall stress levels.

Try to encourage your exempt employees to take breaks throughout the day by offering on-site facilities, exercise classes, meditation spaces or even nap pods. If your employees are non-exempt, you will need to comply with applicable state and local requirements on providing meal and rest breaks throughout the day.

Make the Office Welcoming and Fun A great way to encourage breaks throughout the day is to make your office fun. By utilizing diversions throughout the building, you provide employees with creative ways to get up and move without having to leave the building.

Many companies have been implementing these types of features and have seen extremely positive results in terms of workplace stress and overall productivity levels. Some options include adding a ping pong table, allowing employees to bring their pets to the office or even installing a few video games.

While these diversions can seem counterintuitive at first, when used appropriately, they can transform the employee experience and help breed innovative ideas. Understand Mandated Leave Requirements There are various mandated leave requirements at the federal, state, and local levels.

Understanding these requirements, drafting applicable policies, and communicating them to your employees can reduce stress in times of emergencies.

A lot of workplace stress is associated with life events that require time off, such as illness, pregnancy, childcare and death. Make sure that you stay up to date on mandatory time off requirements and, as you create and implement new polices to comply, communicate them thoroughly and in a timely manner to your team.

This is especially true regarding state and local leave requirements in response to COVID When your employees know that they can be covered when they get sick, workplace related stress decreases and they become more focused on their tasks at hand. Partnering with a PEO is a great way to help decrease work-related stress in your employees.

Doing so gives you a team of HR experts who understand the intricacies of risk mitigation, employee benefits, payroll services and more. Solutions Services Customers Partners Insights About. Book Demo. Full-service HR solution for payroll, benefits and compliance — powered by a platform and expertise.

Outsourced services for HR, payroll processing and payroll tax compliance. Self-service platform for managing the employee lifecycle. Tax credit services and technology. Insights 10 Ways to Reduce Workplace Stress. Culture Wellness.

April 22, TriNet Team. Powerful Ways to Reduce Employee Stress Some careers create more anxiety than others, but employers have an opportunity to decrease stressors by being proactive about employee experience.

The Benefits of Being an Employer of Choice A company that is considered a great place to work can attract a larger pool of quality candidates. Download Now. Inspirational stories and on-the-ground perspectives shaping the future of work. Start here.

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DO Treat all employees in a fair and respectful manner. Take stress seriously and be understanding to staff under too much pressure.

Be aware of the signs and symptoms that a person may be having trouble coping with stress. Involve employees in decision-making and allow for their input directly or through committees, etc.

Encourage managers to have an understanding attitude. Be proactive by looking for signs of stress among their staff. Provide workplace health and wellness programs that target the true source of the stress.

The source of stress at work can be from any number of causes — safety, ergonomics, job demands, etc. Survey the employees and ask them to help identify the root cause s. Incorporate stress prevention or positive mental health promotion in policies or your corporate mission statement.

Make sure staff has the training, skills and resources they need to be successful in their positions. Design jobs to allow for a balanced workload. Allow employees to have control over the tasks they do as much as possible.

Value and recognize individuals' results and skills. Provide support. Be clear about job expectations. Make sure job demands are reasonable by providing manageable deadlines, hours of work, and clear duties as well as work that is interesting and varied.

Provide access to Employee Assistance Programs EAPs for those who wish to attend. DO NOT Do not tolerate bullying or harassment in any form.

Do not ignore signs that employees are under pressure or feeling stressed. Do not forget that elements of the workplace itself can be a cause of stress.

Stress management training and counselling services can be helpful to individuals, but do not forget to look for the root cause of the stress and to address these causes as quickly as possible.

EAP programs are confidential, short term, counselling services for employees with problems that affect their work performance. The services of EAP providers are often purchased by your company. Check with your human resources department or equivalent for contact information.

CMHA 's programs are meant to ensure that people whose mental health is endangered will find the help needed to cope with crisis, regain confidence, and return to community, family and job. The CCSA promotes informed debate on substance abuse issues, and disseminates information on the nature, and assists organizations involved in substance abuse treatment, prevention and educational programming.

For more information on mental health and workplace health, see the OSH Answers: Mental Health - Introduction Mental Health - Psychosocial Risk Factors in the Workplace Mental Health - How to Address and Support Mental Health - Dealing with Stress in the Workplace Workplace Health and Well-being - Comprehensive Workplace Health and Safety Program Mental Health - Having Courageous Conversations Mental Health - Addressing Conflicts Fact sheet last revised: level of responsibility.

supervisors conflicts or lack of support coworkers conflicts or lack of support threat of violence, harassment, etc. threats to personal safety lack of trust lack of systems in workplace available to report and deal with unacceptable behaviour prejudice or discrimination.

exposure to unpleasant conditions e. Preventing excessive stress before it happens is the best strategy. This is also a good stress reducer. Simple and inexpensive ideas for promoting a team environment include:.

Encourage exercise and healthy eating. Exercise and healthy eating are widely known as great tools to reduce and prevent stress. Exercise helps reduce risk factors for virtually every negative health condition.

It also helps release endorphins in the brain which make people feel happy and positive. Promote healthy sleep and taking breaks. Breaks allow employees to recharge and de-stress so they can focus on working.

Too often employees get into the routine where they skip lunch, put off taking a vacation and forgo the sleep they need in favour of doing other things.

Promoting healthy sleep and taking breaks should start with education. Other ideas include: encourage employees NOT to eat at their desks; set limits on how much vacation an employee can carry over to the next year; run contests with rewards for employees who reach their nightly sleep goals.

Giving employees access to professional resources and support is an important way to help reduce stress in the workplace.

Including access to an Employee and Family Assistance Program EFAP in your employee benefits plan is a great way to do this. A good support program will provide counselling, articles and other resources so employees can help prevent over-stress and reduce the stress they already have.

GroupHEALTH includes an employee and family assistance plan with all of its plans. Employees can access credible information and get help when they need it. Set clear requirements and expectations. Employees who are clear about their requirements and expectations surrounding their role and their performance are less likely to become over-stressed.

Not knowing these things can be very stressful. Burnout, then, is a threat to your bottom line, one that costs the U. Health and behavioral science. Making Work Less Stressful and More Engaging for Your Employees.

by Natalia Peart.

Experiencing stress for long periods of time such as lower level but constant stressors at work will activate this system, but it doesn't get the chance to "turn off".

When people engage in these behaviours or are in these emotional states, they are more likely to:. Untreated long term chronic stress has been reported to be associated with health conditions such as:. There are many strategies that can help control stress and reduce its impact to a person or in the workplace.

Since the causes of workplace stress vary greatly, so do the strategies to reduce or prevent it. Where stress in the workplace is caused, for example, by a physical agent, it is best to control it at its source.

If the workplace is too loud, control measures to deal with the noise should be implemented where ever possible. If you are experiencing pain from repetitive strain, workstations can be re-designed to reduce repetitive and strenuous movements.

More detailed information and suggestions are located in the many other documents in OSH Answers such as noise , ergonomics , or violence and harassment in the workplace , etc.

or by asking the Inquiries Service. Job design is also an important factor. Good job design accommodates an employee's mental and physical abilities. In general, the following job design guidelines will help minimize or control workplace stress:. There are many ways to be proactive when dealing with stress.

Mental fitness, self help, taking healthy steps, stress management training, and counselling services can be helpful to individuals, but do not forget to look for the root cause s of the stress and take steps to address them.

However, in some cases, the origin of the stress is something that cannot be changed immediately. Therefore, finding ways to help maintain personal good mental health is also essential. Please see the OSH Answers on Mental Health — Dealing with Stress in the Workplace for more information.

Yes, there are many. Your family doctor can often recommend a professional for you. Other examples include the Employee Assistance Programs EAP or associations such as the Canadian Mental Health Association CMHA or the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction CCSA to name just a few.

You should contact the organization s directly for more information about their services. Please note that mention of these organizations does not represent a recommendation or endorsement by CCOHS of these organizations over others of which you may be aware.

We hear a lot about stress, but what is it? Feelings of unfairness magnify the effects of perceived stress on health lack of support such as family-friendly policies, employee assistance programs, etc. exposure to hazards e. decreasing ability to think clearly or focus Stress can contribute to incidents because people often: sleep poorly self- or over-medicate themselves feel depressed feel anxious, jittery and nervous become angry and reckless often due to a sense of unfairness or injustice When people engage in these behaviours or are in these emotional states, they are more likely to: become momentarily but dangerously distracted feel withdrawn or isolated from others have outbursts, etc.

neglect responsibilities make errors in judgment put their bodies under physical stress, increasing the potential for strains and sprains react poorly in normal activities that require hand-eye or foot-eye coordination Untreated long term chronic stress has been reported to be associated with health conditions such as: anxiety insomnia muscle pain high blood pressure weakened immune system heart disease depression obesity There are many strategies that can help control stress and reduce its impact to a person or in the workplace.

In general, the following job design guidelines will help minimize or control workplace stress: the job should be reasonably demanding but not based on "sheer endurance" and provide the employee with at least a minimum of variety in job tasks the employee should be able to learn on the job and be allowed to continue to learn as their career progresses the job should comprise some area of decision-making that the individual can call his or her own.

there should be some degree of social support and recognition in the workplace the employee should feel that the job leads to some sort of desirable future Employers should assess the workplace for the risk of stress. Determine what can be done to prevent the pressures from becoming negative stressors.

Employers can address stress in many ways. DO Treat all employees in a fair and respectful manner. Take stress seriously and be understanding to staff under too much pressure.

Be aware of the signs and symptoms that a person may be having trouble coping with stress. Involve employees in decision-making and allow for their input directly or through committees, etc.

Encourage managers to have an understanding attitude. Be proactive by looking for signs of stress among their staff. Provide workplace health and wellness programs that target the true source of the stress.

The source of stress at work can be from any number of causes — safety, ergonomics, job demands, etc. Survey the employees and ask them to help identify the root cause s. Incorporate stress prevention or positive mental health promotion in policies or your corporate mission statement. Make sure staff has the training, skills and resources they need to be successful in their positions.

Design jobs to allow for a balanced workload. Allow employees to have control over the tasks they do as much as possible. Value and recognize individuals' results and skills.

Provide support. Be clear about job expectations. Make sure job demands are reasonable by providing manageable deadlines, hours of work, and clear duties as well as work that is interesting and varied. Preventing excessive stress before it happens is the best strategy.

This is also a good stress reducer. Simple and inexpensive ideas for promoting a team environment include:. Encourage exercise and healthy eating. Exercise and healthy eating are widely known as great tools to reduce and prevent stress. Exercise helps reduce risk factors for virtually every negative health condition.

It also helps release endorphins in the brain which make people feel happy and positive. Promote healthy sleep and taking breaks. Breaks allow employees to recharge and de-stress so they can focus on working. Too often employees get into the routine where they skip lunch, put off taking a vacation and forgo the sleep they need in favour of doing other things.

Promoting healthy sleep and taking breaks should start with education. Other ideas include: encourage employees NOT to eat at their desks; set limits on how much vacation an employee can carry over to the next year; run contests with rewards for employees who reach their nightly sleep goals.

Giving employees access to professional resources and support is an important way to help reduce stress in the workplace. Including access to an Employee and Family Assistance Program EFAP in your employee benefits plan is a great way to do this. A good support program will provide counselling, articles and other resources so employees can help prevent over-stress and reduce the stress they already have.

GroupHEALTH includes an employee and family assistance plan with all of its plans. Employees can access credible information and get help when they need it. Set clear requirements and expectations. Employees who are clear about their requirements and expectations surrounding their role and their performance are less likely to become over-stressed.

Not knowing these things can be very stressful. Employees may worry whether they are doing too much or not doing enough. This lack of information and expectations sets employees up for stress and burnout. Ensuring your company provides all employees with clear expectations on their role and their work is the first step.

Regular reviews with a supervisor to review these expectations, evaluate job performance and strategize to meet the expectations is a great way to help prevent over-stress. Reducing stress in the workplace benefits everyone.

With less stress, employees report higher job satisfaction. Happy employees are more productive and more likely to help out when needed. If employees are your greatest asset, then happy and productive employees are a competitive advantage.

Reducing stress in the workplace can also help reduce benefit claims. Because stress contributes to so many physical and mental health conditions, less stress means lower claims. Reducing stress for you and your employees can make a big difference for your company.